United Kingdom and United States F-35B Lightning II stealth jets landed aboard Japan’s helicopter destroyer JS Kaga, marking the first time the U.K.’s short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft have operated from a Japanese warship, the U.K. Carrier Strike Group said.
Photographs released on the strike group’s official social media account showed Royal Navy and U.S. Marine Corps pilots executing cross-deck landings and short takeoffs during combined drills in the northern Philippine Sea. The visual record showed growing operational integration among the three Allies as they tested combined carrier-based air power at sea.
JS Kaga is the second of two Izumo-class vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Commissioned in 2017 as a helicopter destroyer, the ship underwent a modification program in 2024 that reinforced the flight deck, reshaped the bow into a straight carrier configuration and upgraded aviation fuel and ordnance-handling systems to support vertical landings by F-35B jets.
The operations were part of the nine-day multinational exercise Operation Highmast conducted in waters east of Luzon Island. The drill brought together the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington with Carrier Air Wing 5 attached, the amphibious assault ship USS America and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. The U.K. contingent was led by HMS Prince of Wales, supported by the destroyer HMS Dauntless and international escorts from Australia, Spain and Norway. Japan’s destroyer Teruzuki and a submarine rounded out JS Kaga’s task group. In all, 11 ships and 23 aircraft were involved.
During the operation Japanese deck crews, aviation technicians and command teams gained firsthand experience managing maintenance checks, weapons loading and flight-deck handling for fifth-generation fighters. Additional training included anti-submarine warfare drills, coordinated air defense, and at-sea ship resupply operations.
Japan Ministry of Defense officials said this practical exposure on a functioning carrier deck will accelerate Japan’s operational readiness once its own F-35Bs are deployed aboard JS Kaga and JS Izumo. Tokyo has contracted to buy 42 F-35B jets under a Foreign Military Sales agreement approved in 2019.
The combined drills come amid heightened concern over China’s naval expansion, frequent patrols near the Senkaku Islands and mounting cross-strait tensions with Taiwan. Defense analysts say the presence of allied F-35B jets at sea demonstrates the Partners’ ability to deploy stealth airpower rapidly, reinforces deterrence in the Western Pacific and signals a unified resolve against regional coercion.